For its 2nd opus, PicturePalace Music (TD’s Thorsten Quaeschning band), continues his musical exploration of the cinema German expressionism underground world. After the work of Robert Wiene (Das Cabinet of Dr. Caligari), Thorsten Quaeschning takes as a starting point the vampiric work of Friedrich Wilhelm; Nosferatu the Vampire (Nosferatu, eine Symphony of Grauens). Electronic symphony or electronic opera, PPM offers 66 minutes of music well structured where the breaths of the blood suckers hoot in a musical fauna which combine as well contemporary EM, techno and symphonic rock on melodious structures where nostalgia flatters an eclectic force. Soft felted percussions open Array of fadin´ Flowers. The rhythm is light. A soft and sensual techno which becomes heavier with hatched riffs, a romantic guitar which hems on ethereal chords on a hyper melodious memotron. After a shimmering intro, Knock Knock bursts on great percussions, releasing a heavy atmosphere on a throbbing tempo with a good pulsating bass which paves the way to an aggressive guitar. A title melodiously heavy where the memotron combines vocal orchestrations and harmonies. Alucard looks like a dialogue between mythical presences; on a tempo fractured by several rolls of drums and a guitar harmoniously celestial which operates its charm throughout this PPM 2nd effort. Mental Undead, just like Celebrating fears Part IV, is a dark corridor hysterico-psychedelic which leads to the very beautiful and melancholic Waving goodbye, waving waving. A superb track of an apocalyptic softness which really points out vampiric odes, as well as on Sleep well, Elisabeth and Yersenia Sea; ambient titles which seem to get out of the hypnotic mists of Nosferatu and where the guitars howl distress which gives cold in the back. Liliths Cradlesong is a symphony for piano filled of chthonian atmosphere. It is a little long, without rhythm, life… like if Nosferatu doze of its last meal. From astral ambient that haunts our ears, Demeter-morph and Scholomance Trance light fires of rhythms with good percussions, good guitars and hatched twists which braises in a superb orchestration. Heavy titles which are inserted between mephistophelic nebulosity’s and lighter titles like Vlad, Anton, Ruediger, Ligeias Wake thusThe end of the end of everything which sails between synth pop and techno, whereas Lucy and the shy Diabolos is a good heavy techno. Thorsten Quaeschning continues to astonish. He has a very poetic musical vision which furnishes its imaginations as well as we perceive it. Symphony For Vampires is a superb album of a contemporary music which flees the stereotypes to charm, astonish and move.
Sylvain Lupari from Guts Of Darkness, The French Magazine of Dark & Experimental Music